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Course and Term: SRAP5001 Policy Analysis
Title: Assessment 3 Policy Brief
Weighting: 50 %
Assessment type: Policy brief
Total word count: 2000 words ( +/- 10% )
Group work: No
Assessment Description:
In this written assessment task, you will present a policy brief in two parts on a current issue of your choice. The brief will
provide policy analysis for two different audiences.
The two parts of your policy brief will be roughly equal in length or word count, and will address the same policy issue. Both
parts should conclude with clear recommendations for the chosen audience.
1. Part 1 - Analysis for policy: This first piece will be written for a layperson audience (such as a briefing for or on behalf of
a community organisation or interest group), using style and language appropriate for a non-expert audience. Do not
assume that your audience has any prior knowledge of the issue. You should aim to make your writing as accessible
and readable as possible, using headings, dot points, images and graphs where appropriate. You should show your
sources using hyperlinks in the text, and naming key authors or experts in your text. You must include all your
sources written out in full in a reference list.
2. Part 2 - Analysis of policy: The second piece will be written for an academic audience (such as a research centre or
think tank), using academic written conventions. This piece will be written in the style of a short essay or editorial,
and can draw explicitly on relevant policy theory. You must include in-text citations and a bibliography (following the
SOSS Referencing Guide).
References and bibliographic material are not counted in the word limit.
How to complete the assessment:
This task is designed to demonstrate your understanding of the policy process, drawn from the course materials throughout
the term. You should think critically and analytically about the concepts, models and theories that explain how policy is made,
and use this understanding to develop your policy analysis in the policy brief.
Some tips and advice:
• First, choose your policy issue: this should be a policy issue that has been publicly debated in the last 3 to 6 months
in Australia. Pay careful attention to whether the issue is a federal or state government responsibility.
• Research your issue carefully. You should collect a variety of relevant information and evidence, including scholarly
and non-academic sources.
• Clarify the issue that is at stake, and narrow your scope. Do not try to cover too much, or too big an issue (e.g.
‘climate change’). The more tightly focused your problem definition is (e.g. low uptake of electric vehicles), the more
persuasive you can be.
• Reflect on the political context, and make sure that you align your recommendations with the interests, ideology and
priorities of the person/organisation for whom you are writing the brief.
• Clearly identify the audience that you are writing for, in each part of your brief.
• Make sure your recommendations are realistic and precise, and written in dot points, as imperatives – e.g. “That the
Department allocate funding to…”
• Note that a significant part of this task is about distilling complex evidence and competing perspectives into a clear,
coherent and well-supported argument. It can take much longer than you think to draft and edit an effective brief.
Make sure you allow yourself time to revise and edit your work.
2
Samples of policy brief work from previous classes can be found on Moodle.
Course Learning Outcomes addressed in this task:
• CLO1 : Apply relevant theoretical concepts to explain how policy is made
• CLO2 : Analyse the role of different actors and institutions in influencing policy in a specific policy context
• CLO3 : Critically evaluate different kinds of evidence and use this to develop coherent and persuasive policy advice
• CLO4 : Communicate research findings accurately and clearly using a range of techniques (written, spoken, visual)
Submission requirements:
Electronic Submission:
What to submit: Please submit your assessment as a Word document. Do not submit a PDF.
Where to submit: Submit via Turnitin, in the Assessments Hub on Moodle Note that you can only submit your document
once, and you will not be able to see the Turnitin similarity report.
Due date: Wednesday 24 April 2024 11:59 PM
Please note:
• Please familiarise yourself with the information on Academic Honesty and Plagiarism in the Course Outline.
Short Extensions:
A short extension of up to 5 days is allowed for this task.
Acceptable use of Generative AI:
Drafting assistance
As this assessment task involves some planning or creative processes, you are permitted to use software to generate initial
drafts, ideas or layout (though you are not required to do so). However, you must develop or edit those ideas to such a
significant extent that what is submitted is your own work, i.e., what is generated by the software should not be a part of your
final submission. It is a good idea to keep copies of your initial drafts to show your lecturer if there is any uncertainty about
the originality of your work.
Please note that your submission will be passed through an AI-text detection tool. If your marker has concerns that your
answer contains passages of AI-generated text that have not been sufficiently modified you may be asked to explain your
work, but we recognise that you are permitted to use AI generated text as a starting point and some traces may remain. If you
are unable to satisfactorily demonstrate your understanding of your submission you may be referred to UNSW Conduct &
Integrity Office for investigation for academic misconduct and possible penalties.
How you will receive feedback for this task:
Students will receive written feedback and a numerical grade through the Turnitin Feedback Studio in Moodle. These will be
released when end of term results are finalised.
The marking rubric for this task can be found on the next page.